Netflix is dreaming of a glitch-free Christmas with 2 major NFL games set

Netflix is gearing up to stream two NFL games this Christmas Day: the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the Baltimore Ravens vs. the Houston Texans at 4:30 p.m. ET.

These football games will mark the streaming service’s latest test at live programming for events that will likely draw millions of viewers.

Last year, an average of 28.7 million viewers tuned in to one of the three NFL football games on Christmas Day — the Las Vegas Raiders vs. the Chiefs; the New York Giants vs. the Philadelphia Eagles; and the Ravens vs. the San Francisco 49ers. The matchups ranked among the top 25 most-viewed TV programs of 2023.

“We couldn’t be more excited to be the first professional sports league to partner with Netflix to bring live games to fans around the world,” said Hans Schroeder, NFL executive vice president of media distribution, in a statement.

But it’s not just the touchdowns and tackles that are expected to drive viewership.

Before the Ravens take on the Texans, Grammy-winning group Pentatonix will sing the national anthem. At halftime, Beyoncé will take the stage, preforming tracks from her 2024 album Cowboy Carter live for the first time, along with special guest appearances.

Netflix says it learned from Tyson-Paul boxing match glitches

Netflix’s move to stream NFL games comes just weeks after the platform’s attempt to broadcast live boxing between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson was rife with technical glitches.

Many fans reported on social media experiencing long buffering times or being booted from the stream. According to the website Down Detector, at least 85,000 viewers experienced streaming issues. The disruptions were so frustrating to one Florida man that he filed a class action lawsuit against Netflix over the “unwatchable” livestream.

At its peak, the fight reached 65 million concurrent streams globally, which was an unprecedented scale for Netflix.

A Netflix spokesperson said the platform has learned a great deal about streaming from the Tyson vs. Paul fight, adding that Netflix has adjusted its “content delivery, encoding, and streaming protocols accordingly” to prevent technical issues for the football games.

“We now know from experience what are the main pressure points in our infrastructure and are promptly addressing them ahead of the NFL games,” the spokesperson said in an email.

A lot is at stake for Netflix to get livestreams right and glitch-free. The platform is already set to air NFL games on Christmas Day in 2025 and 2026. Netflix will also begin broadcasting WWE Raw, SmackDown and other WWE programming weekly starting Jan. 6.

On Friday, Netflix secured a deal with FIFA to gain exclusive streaming rights to the Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031. The two groups said it is not only a score for the streamer, but a win for FIFA, which is hoping to reach a wider audience, especially in the U.S.

“This agreement sends a strong message about the real value of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the global women’s game,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino in a statement.

Whether it’s a comedy special, a late-night talk show, or a dating show reunion, it has been hit or miss as to whether Netflix’s broadcasts will run smoothly.

But it’s clear that live programming is here to stay on Netflix. In recent years, the streamer has been experimenting more with live programming — an area largely dominated by traditional TV platforms. It’s a sharp pivot from the binge-watching trend that helped Netflix rise to popularity.

Netflix has the largest subscriber base of any streaming service worldwide. But mastering live streaming will be crucial for its future as concerns about stagnation and subscriber growth continue to loom.